So far in my exciting, yet limited voiceover career, I have recorded one radio commercial for an event my company was hosting, a couple of television commercials for another event and have narrated for a symphony orchestra.
The Symphony gig was interesting. I was asked to read John Muir quotes, on-stage, inbetween various movements in a symphony performance. My directions from the conductor and the gentleman organizing the evnt were vague, "read in a very slow, yet not disingenuously slow, voice". After the performance, I was warmly greeted by a number of people from the audience, each of them telling me that I "should do that professionally". At the time, I had little time to consider such a proposal.
I have been delivering presentations, speaking with media, done interviews on local television and for local radio stations and news media. My ability to clearly get across a message while entertaining the audience has been my strong-suit.
My business has been renewable energy, energy efficiency, education, outreach and community development. I started out in Memphis, TN with a company I named Deep Fried Rides. I was outfitting diesel vehicles with auxiliary fuel systems that allowed them to run on waste vegetable oil. You would think having to explain how something as odd as vegetable oil powered vehicles worked to people in Memphis, TN was practice enough in the art of message management; for me it wasn't enough.
I then started a non-profit organization called the West Tennessee Clean Cities Coalition. My main goal was to help our little are of the country reduce its use of high carbon energy and to help develop cleaner, more efficient ways of getting along. I worked with everyone from the governor of the state to kindergarten students in the most rural areas imaginable.
I also worked part time for a consulting firm and was given the opportunity to deliver a presentation to an agricultural conference in Santa Marta, Colombia. Much to my surprise, my presentation was well received and my jokes, delivered in English of course, actually got laughs...eventually. There is nothing quite like waiting for a laugh between the seven to ten second delay in translation from English to Spanish. Those are the longest seconds I've ever known on stage. I was convinced that the interpreter just told them, "now is the appropriate time to laugh".
At any rate, I have been told on multiple occasions, "you should use your voice to make money"; that is now exactly what I would like to do. However, I have never made any money without working very hard for it. I am willing, able and currently putting in the effort necessary to do with my voice as much as I can. I look forward to working with anyone who recognizes a solid work ethic, particularly those who recognizes it in the form of regular work.
I have a high school Diploma and have two and a half years of university studies in Journalism with no degree behind it. As mentioned above, I have been speaking publicly for over five years now. I have taken speaking classes, given seminars, presentations and spoken to people of all ages. I have also been reading to and entertaining children as both a brother and an uncle since I was a child. In addition, I have been in a few different bands and play guitar and sing.
I currently have a small, super quiet, in home studio set up with two condenser microphones, a Tascam 2 channel digital recording console and Cubase LE4 software installed on my PC. I have primarily used this to record music. It is more than capable of recording a clear vocal track that can be sent anywhere and edited to the client's preferences. Multitracking is an option as well. I have been around much more sophisticated equipment and am familiar with the language of the studio. What I do not know, I am able to learn quickly.
At this point in my life, I can count having done over 30 different jobs. These include washing dishes in an all you can eat catfish restaurant in rural Mississippi, to working in a money management firm in the Empire State building, to owning and operating my own business, to professionally driving an airstream trailer on a North American road tour. I have been told, and personally believe, that it doesn't matter if I have the appropriate knowledge base for a project, my skill sets are are appropriate for almost any job. I look forward to putting that to the test in this fascinating industry.